Ranking System Basics
View the rankings anytime you would like from the WWE Universe screen. Rankings are based on an individual wrestlers recent wins vs. losses, which brand (RAW, SmackDown, etc.) he or she wrestle in and any titles involved. The game follows very closely the same basic guidelines as in the professional ranks on TV and pay-per-view. That is, the WWE Championship is only connected to RAW and only the talent in that brand can fight for it, etc. Everyone in the full roster is ranked but only the top contenders are shown. The rankings continually update after matches are completed. How the system ranks is unclear but one thing is sure…win you move up, lose you fall back. Strength of opponent plays a factor in there somehow too.
Momentum can be monitored on the Edit Superstar screen. This is also a factor in the rankings. The fastest way to get a superstar or diva up in the rankings quickly is to work them to death. The more exposure they get, the better the rankings will get also. Put him or her in every week in every show. A SmackDown superstar will still climb in the rankings with a win on RAW. Keep in mind that rankings are only used in the WWE Universe. If you want total control without worrying about rankings, use the “play” mode option. Create your own matches without having to think twice about rankings. To get a wrestler moving up in rankings at all you must put him or her in matches. They can’t raise their numbers sitting in the dressing room. Actually that isn’t always true as some matches end up all over the arena including the dressing rooms.
The multi-man matches can make some fairly drastic changes to the rankings. The Fatal 4-way, Triple Threat and Royal matches can really mix things up. The system is also smart enough, especially in 3-man matches, to match the movement in ranking accordingly. That is, the one who gets pinned moves down more than the one who also lost but wasn’t pinned. But the bottom line is that a contender for the US Title still has a way to go and still needs quality wins to get a shot at something bigger like the WWE Championship. So it stands to reason that a new wrestler will appear on WWE Superstars before moving up the ranks to Raw or Smackdown. No worries however, just put your wrestler in a lot of matches and eventually he or she will move up in the standings.
Number 1 Contender Matches
Rankings will be tossed out in the case of number one contenders. The system will work it all out later and compensate. The reason for this is the stipulations involved in certain matches. This is one time that a guy or gal at the bottom of the list can get a shot at a superstar’s title. The winner of the Royal Rumble gets an automatic title shot in WrestleNania. The super star who wins Money in the Bank can cash that treasure in at any time before WrestleMania for a free title opportunity. Whoever is the actually number 1 contender is locked in at that title for the whole month. At the end of each month, he or she will get to wrestle for the title.
You cannot create your own number 1 contender matches but you can override the game’s selections. If you don’t like the participants that the system has picked, press RB on your Xbox or R1 if you are on a PS3. A box will give you 2 options: “Just Change the Participants” or “Customize Freely”. Pick the first option. Now you can change any of the wrestlers but you just can’t change the number or participants. At this point you pretty much know how to control things. You can create your own number 1 contender match and have them wrestle in the next pay-per-view.
